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U.S. News & World Report is out with its latest rankings of the best children’s hospitals in the U.S.
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Ninety children’s hospitals made the list for at least one of the 11 pediatric specialties evaluated by U.S. News analysts. Eleven hospitals that excelled in children’s care in all specialties received a special distinction.
Here’s what the 2026-2027 report showed.
Ranking methodology
For the rankings, U.S. News analyzed data from more than 100 children’s hospitals around the nation, assessing freestanding children’s hospitals, pediatric services within hospitals, as well as children’s hospitals focusing on particular medical specialties.
The organization also surveyed 40,000 medical professionals on the subject of the best pediatric hospitals in their fields.
On the final list, 90 hospitals across the nation are recognized by U.S. News as offering exceptional pediatric care. U.S. News also ranked the hospitals in their performance in 11 medical specialties:
- Pediatric and adolescent behavioral health
- Cancer
- Cardiology and heart surgery
- Diabetes and endocrinology
- Gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery
- Neonatology
- Nephrology
- Neurology and neurosurgery
- Orthopedics
- Pulmonology and lung surgery
- Urology
Hospital honor roll includes ‘high performing’ hospital in California
U.S. News included an Honor Roll of the best children’s hospitals in the nation. Eleven hospitals across 8 states and Washington D.C. made the Honor Roll for providing “high-performing, multi-specialty pediatric care,” according to the report. They earned the distinction by being highly ranked in numerous specialties.
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Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the only California hospital on the Honor Roll of best of the best. It ranked as the top children’s hospital in the state. It also tied for No. 1 in the Pacific region out of seven multi-state regions.
The states with the most well-performing children’s hospitals on the list are New York at 10, followed by California and Florida with 9 each.
Broken down by region, and then by state, California children’s hospitals recognized by U.S. News as the best in the nation are:
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
- Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Palo Alto
- Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego
- UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, San Francisco and Oakland
- UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles
- CHOC Children’s Hospital, Orange County
- Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, Loma Linda
- UC Davis Children’s Hospital, Sacramento
- Valley Children’s Healthcare and Hospital, Madera
This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 11:40 AM with the headline “California has some of the best children’s hospitals in the US. Where are they?.”
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